LEES: Pleasant memories and grave concerns

As far as pleasant memories go, I had many reminders this week of people who made an impact on me. The passing of former Saint Joseph’s basketball coach, Jack Ramsay, hit me pretty hard. All of the Saint Joe’s students in the 50s and 60s idolized Dr. Jack. My dad got Jack Ramsay, who obtained a Ph. D. in education at the University of Pennsylvania, to speak at our Epiphany of Our Lord basketball banquet in 1959. I was the MVP that year, and Dr. Jack told me to grow about 12 inches taller and apply to Saint Joe’s. Well, I applied to Saint Joe’s, but didn’t grow much taller. So I settled for cheering for the Hawks and reading Dr. Jack’s 1963 book “Pressure Basketball.” When my 2012-3 girls basketball team came back from a 21-2 deficit in the first half to win 36-34, it was partially because of what I learned from that book. Jack went on to be GM of the Sixers 1966-7 NBA champions along with coaching the Sixers, the Buffalo Braves, the Portland Trailblazers (1976-7 NBA champs) and the Indiana Pacers. He was a great man along with being a triathlon competitor.

On the local level, I was saddened to read of the passing of Ed Natalini. I remember being a kid and cheering for Ed when he played football for Plymouth-Whitemarsh. I can remember thinking “That guy is really good.”

Also, I read an article about Temple’s women’s crew coach , Gavin White, Jr. That got me thinking about his dad, Gavin White, Sr., who was a quarterback for Pete Stevens Temple Owls back in the 1950’s. Mr. White, as we called him, was our baseball coach at Plymouth Consolidated School in the summer recreation playground program. He was a great coach and role model. Montgomery County Hall of Fame coach, Brian Thomas, Wayne Montgomery, Jake Kriebel, Dave Kriebel, Lyle Saylor, and I, along with many others, played our hearts out for him.

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I found out that John Kennedy, the first African-American player to play for the Phils for a few games in 1957, is buried without a tombstone. I hope the Phils will do something to rectify that. John only played a few games with the Phils before he was traded to the Dodgers along with three other players for “Chico” Fernadez. This connects to Mr. White because he would call me “Chico” when I played shortstop, because my style of play reminded him of Fernandez.

In the midst of happy memories, I have grave concerns about the current state of affairs.

Here’s my partial list:

1. The Republican Party is going to launch another investigation into the tragedy in Benghazi. I think it is a shame that instead of trying to help our country, we have one party (the GOP) that spends literally almost all of its time yelling three words “Benghazi” and “Repeal Obamacare.” What sad nonsense is this?

2. What is with this Georgia law that let’s almost anyone carry a gun almost anywhere, including bars? What sick nonsense is this?

3. I worry about a Supreme Court that thinks racism is over in America. What kind of ignorance is that? That racist rancher in Nevada and the Los Angeles Clippers owner are only the tip of the iceberg and everybody except five Supreme Court Justices knows it.

4. I worry that the lack of voter enthusiasm among the Democratic Party base will lead to a light turnout in the fall election. Coupled with an energized right-wing base, this could lead to the GOP messing up the Senate the way they have messed up the House of representatives (so much that Jim Gerlach and Jon Runyan are getting out). Single women, minorities and young people need to vote this year otherwise the “Benghazi/Repeal Obamacare” crowd will increase its power and do more damage to our country’s future.

5. I’m worried that oligarchs like the Koch brothers, Michael Bloomberg, George Soros, and Sheldon Adelson have so much power. We better make our taxation system more progressive and increase inheritance taxes on the really, really rich, quickly.

6. I want someone to pay attention to a new pet peeve of mine. Why do we tolerate a bridge named after Walt Whitman? Good poet or not, here is what Whitman had to say about Catholics “… these dregs of foreign filth – refuse of convents-scullions from Austrian monasteries…” Having been raised Catholic, I really resent this. I am glad Terry Golway’s book “Machine Made” has opened my eyes to this. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan,”Mr. Nutter, tear down the name of that bridge.”

Well, I have more concerns and one more memory (of Dick McCuen, who used to publish the “Conshohocken Recorder” and other papers), but I’ll save all of that for later.